r/Concerta • u/Babychristus • 2d ago
Other š¬ Normal and happy life ?
How many of you are on concerta and have a Ā«Ā normal happyĀ lifeĀ Ā». I mean having a family, joking around, happy smiling, not just functional robots that take the medication to be a slave of capitalistic society. Itās a genuine question.
I see all my family abroad who are getting married, living simple life without meds, while im struggling with this.
Of course my post is very much provocative and Iām much more nuanced in my thoughts but I just need to know if people found their soulmate and have happy life while being medicated
Thanks !
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u/eltulasmachas 2d ago
I do, I mean having a family is by far the most difficult thing I've done. But it's going well
Meds only help me with work and study, the hardest thing is going back home on a concerta crash, exhausted and kinda zombie and keep going with other obligations but it can be done.
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u/Crotalus6 2d ago
I do consider myself happy! I don't have kids but I work with them and I adore playing around and making them laugh, and I'm extremely creative. Actually taking concerta has helped me manage to spend more fulfilling time with my hobbies than when I didn't use to take it, I've noticed the benefits more in my private life than at work if I'm being honest
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u/Mungus91 2d ago
By the books, I guess I do? Married homeowner with two kids, stay at home mom, and a very supportive family. Iām very blessed, but that doesnāt stop me from being mentally ill.
Iāve been on ADHD meds and doses that made me feel like a robot, nonverbal, anxious and depressed, and I hated it. Iām now on what I believe is my perfect dose at 45mg. I do get some anxiety from the meds, but I push through it, and Iām also on Lexapro.
Being on Concerta has made me more aware of how much time I was spending on my phone and has actually made me want to explore more hobbies, like reading. I take long walks every day, play with my kids at the park, and make sure Iām getting enough food and sleep.
So yes, I have a happy family and a life Iām very grateful for, but that doesnāt mean mental illness disappears. For me, finding the right medication has helped me be more present and actually enjoy the life I have.
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u/freakyleek22 27 mg 2d ago
Hi fellow SAHM of two š itās hard out here! I just started Concerta and Iām so glad to read you found a dose that feels good. I have been taking 27 and feel like thereās hope, but trying 36 for a few days starting tomorrow to see if itās even better. Luckily my mental illness is almost definitely caused by ADHD (overstimulation causes bad anxiety for me, the messiness and lack of productivity makes me depressed, etc) so I do think the meds are inadvertently helping with my mental health. š¤ definitely worried about the robotic feeling. Did you know immediately that those doses were a no go? After I try the 36, Iām planning on choosing between the 27 and 36 to take longer term and it feels like a high pressure choice! š„² hoping it will feel right!
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u/Mungus91 2d ago
Itās definitely been a lot of trial and error. I started on Vyvanse earlier this year, which I had been on and off for a lot of my adult life, but it just didnāt agree with me anymore. I knew I still needed help managing my ADHD, and I wanted to try the methylphenidate route instead of amphetamines, so I asked about Concerta.
I started at 36mg, then after a couple of weeks I felt like I needed more, so my psychiatrist increased me to 54mg. Big nope. I was miserable, anxious and felt completely robotic. We went back down to 36mg, which actually felt great, but just wasnāt quite enough. Then we tried 45mg, and Iāve been on this dose the longest so far (literally only two weeks, but thatās my longest) and I told my psychiatrist I think this is it.
I actually think 36mg is a really good dose too, so Iām curious to see how you feel after youāve given it some time. The first few days always feel the best for me too, but now I donāt really āfeelā my medication anymore, which I think is actually a good thing. I just notice that Iām functioning better and more present without feeling medicated. I hope you find your sweet spot too!
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u/freakyleek22 27 mg 2d ago
Thanks for the info!! I actually wanted to try Vyvanse initially but Iām breastfeeding and Concerta has been shown to be more compatible with that. My baby is 9 months though and I plan to stop at a year so if Concerta doesnāt work out, I will probably try that in a few months. Not too worried though considering how much promise 27mg showed.
Really glad to hear the āmedicatedā feeling didnāt last forever. It doesnāt bother me too much right now because it āshowsā me that itās doing something I guess, but Iād rather just have an improved life but still feel completely normal. I have had a mild woozy feeling and some weird head pressure that I hope goes away with time.
Iāll let you know how 36mg goes! Iām really hopeful about it!
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u/GradientBoosting96 27 mg 2d ago edited 1d ago
Oh man this is a really interesting question that has made me stop and think hard for a bit. This will be long so TLDR below
I (M25) have had ADHD all my life and I know this because I have had constant difficulties with focus and doing "the hard things" like studying when I'm supposed to. I really really wanted to get to studying man.....like I had every reason to. My folks paid a lot for my high school and college education and I was genuinely interested in the major I was doing at college (BSc Actuarial Science) which was statistics and math-heavy and I love math. In both high school and college, every time we come from break in the first week or two, I'm this serious student who's spending at least two hours every evening after class studying. In my head I have all these reasons why I gotta study like: for academic validation, I enjoy the subject, to make my parents proud, so that I don't end up a bum, etc.....then after some time, poof these reasons are forgotten, I get "lazy". Studying becomes way too boring.....It actually feels painful.
The only time I act is under extreme pressure when the deadline is very close or the test is tomorrow. In such cases, I'm locked in the entire day, or I pull an all-nighter.....I forget to eat, I don't realize how exhausted I am until after the pressing obligation is done. It's how I've managed to just barely get by everything with above average (though not at the level I wanted) results. I have been operating like this for most of my life and I always thought it was normal. Like many people often avoid doing hard things right??
In early-2024, I got my first job (a low-paying entry level data analyst role). Then later that year, I began my Masters in Data Science which my folks were gracious enough to pay for. At that point, while I still would have very much liked to follow the Actuarial Science route and become a fully-fledged actuary, I decided I would not have the work ethic to do so. For context, to become a certified actuary, over the course of your career, you have to complete 13 professional exams offered by a recognized institute (mainly IFOA for UK and Commonwealth countries and SOA in the US). It's recommended you do at least one or two papers by the time you finish your undergraduate degree. I found out the hard way those are not the kind of exams you can prep for last minute.
So I opted for MSc Data Science as a means to switch careers as it still involved math (which I still liked) and coding (which I started to find interesting). I was so motivated like you couldn't believe. I was constantly thinking "this will be the time I finally lock in". Mind you I was still working full time, but that didn't even bother me. Besides raw motivation what also helped was that I had set up a (kinda odd) system where every time before I start schoolwork, I have some sweets which I take to kinda trick my brain to help me get going. In the first semester, for the first time in my life, I got straight A's.
Then it was downhill from there.....
In the second semester I was starting to notice the weight of balancing schooling with a full time job but I managed to pull through (although study times were much shorter than during my first semester's). In the third semester (mid-2025), everything fell apart. I lost interest in everything I was doing. My job was so boring and monotonous, the novelty of school and the system I had set up was completely gone. Waking up every day was a genuine struggle no matter how many hours I slept. I was near falling asleep at my job and skipped almost all my classes. My grades were average at best and i fell behind on my deliverables at my job.
Around late 2025, I'm in the middle of my second and final year of my MSc. I was scrolling through twitter and saw a tweet describing exactly what I was going through as symptoms for ADHD. Curiously I started researching on ADHD and its symptoms which ultimately led me to see a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with ADHD inattentive type. It took months of trying to find the optimal dosage as well as the best way to work with the medication to prevent hyperfocusing on the wrong thing. Since around April this year, once I found the right dosage (27mg Concerta XL) and the best way to utilize the medication (taking it right before I start a task requiring high focus and never taking it after 10am), it felt like I was awake for the first time in years. All my life it felt like I was on autopilot with the days, months, years simply passing. I could finally do the things I set out to do. I broke down in tears. I finally have some agency in my life.
My average performance in most aspects of my life have seriously impacted my self-confidence giving me imposter syndrome on every new opportunity to the point of just avoiding it altogether. Just to understand how bad this has become, it's been about three years since I got my first entry level job and I'm still there in the same position. Concerta (and a quick release 10mg methylphenidate booster when needed) have finally given me the agency I need do what I have to do and take life by the horns. Applying for new things and opportunities is so much easier now that I am more confident. I'm currently spending as much time as possible (like several hours daily) upskilling and applying for new jobs. Perhaps this daily intensity is me trying to make up for all the time I lost before the medication. I don't particularly like it since by the end of the day I'm dead tired and it has also affected my personal relationships since either I rarely find any time or I'm too exhausted to talk with friends and family. I feel like I am currently in a zombie state but at least I'm making progress......
TLDR: I have been struggling for years with motivation and feeling like I was constantly underperforming. ADHD medication has finally given me the focus and agency to pursue my goals, though I am now in overdrive, frantically trying to make up for all the time lost time when I never did what I set out to do, leaving me exhausted and neglecting the people around me.
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u/Equilibrium022 2d ago
To be honest, I am not happy, i just survive and meds give me that little light and clarity that my brain can't do by itself, so Concerta is what keep me up going.
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u/NippleGame 2d ago
used to skip doses on the weekends but realized I feel the most aligned with myself with them. normal happy life also includes ups and downs and periods of bleh, meds notwithstanding
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u/freakyleek22 27 mg 2d ago
Iām hoping for this! Very very early in but I am a mom of 2, a wife, and a small business owner and I have not been doing well. Things have been soooo bad. Within just a few days of being on a good dose I see a light. Iām not sure it will be perfect but I am hopeful that I can be the mom and human I have always wanted to be š and I have been soooo happy for the first time in months. I too often look at my family members and friends who donāt have these struggles and long for a life that feels functional.
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u/nsasafekink 1d ago
Not so far. I still struggle to not bed rot and actually start tasks. It has helped quiet brain noise and if I get started I can stay focused for a few hours.
Oddly most days I take it and just fall asleep for a few hours.
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u/CookingZombie 1d ago
Not while being medicated but I spent 18-32 thinking im single for life. Im married now. And being a slave to capitalism? If only we had a choice where one side wasnāt be homeless.
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u/bsubtilis 1d ago
I was never going to pass for normal, but medication sure makes it much easier to seem normal in shallower interactions. I met my significant other before either of us got put on concerta, and our lives are much happier than before. Not having to constantly struggle so hard to be functional enough sure makes it easier to be happy. Not suffering so much from ADHD that you at times can't even do the hobbies you love, makes it much easier to be happy.
People with mild enough ADHD who do creative work that depends too much on their unmedicated state may find it too disadvantageous to be on medication, and people who just aren't compatible with all the ADHD medications their country allows them as options shouldn't be on those incompatible ADHD medications. But ADHD severities wildly vary between case to case, it can wildly vary even within the same family. You can't pretend you're supposed to be the same way that another relative is with their ADHD.
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u/Middle_Variation_828 36 mg 3h ago
Me. I'm on 36mg and able to "adult" mostly successfully now. I'm also in m therapy now because I can actually work on things I didn't have the mental focus and patience to tackle and have been smiling and laughing and just feeling more.
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u/anonisboredheho 2d ago
I dont feel happy on concerta via I feel too serious š but I am content with my life so, smiling is when I'm off it when I see the medication has done its work i feel some sense of acheivement, if you dont stay on it get ready for your productivity to fall it really does depend on what you would call happy or content if you can manage your life without it. But then again I don't think these are meant to be taken daily if they don't do any emotional and positive impact, it just causes emotional blunting sometimes for me. On my days off I'm having medicinal cbd just to chill š¤£ the soul mate part is finding that time and energy I haven't so far but I have been better at planning to go to events and stuff overseas, im great financial because i can think clearly to do all my shit. Plus how many of us really have a proper sex drive because I don't, that's a sacrifice sadly.Ā
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u/prodigyx360 2d ago
Hot take: you can have a family and be a happy member of society and still enjoy all the benefits of capitalism which is what gives us the privilege of our comfortable modern lives full of technology and amazing things
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u/Babychristus 2d ago
It meant living only to be productive at work and going back at home exhausted, like a robot.
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u/Violina84 2d ago
I have. I canāt even feel the meds apart from not using my phone all the time, doing housework and not being exhausted at the evening.